1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical network unit (ONU) transceiver modules. More particularly, the present invention relates to ONU transceiver modules having individual pins to couple an RF interface component of the module to an external component, such as an optical network unit host box.
2. Background
Passive optical networks (PON) allow a host to communicate efficiently with a number of users. A PON infrastructure often includes an optical line termination (OLT) unit on the carrier side of the network and a pluggable optical network unit (ONU) transceiver module on the user's side. The OLT is operatively associated with many ONUs through a passive optical splitter. In particular, a single line of fibers is often directed from the OLT to the passive optical splitter. Additional fibers then run from the passive optical splitter to each of the ONUs. Optical signals coming from the OLT are split and directed along the additional fibers to the ONUs. Optical signals from the ONUs are sent directly from the ONU to the passive optical splitter, which allows the signal to be passed on to the OLT. In such a configuration, the bandwidth is shared between the ONUs by allocating various time slots in which the ONUs transmit to the OLT and other time slots in which the OLT is transmitting to the ONUs or by selecting different wavelengths for use by the OLT and the ONU. A group of ONUs may reside on the same host, such as an ONU host box.
Recent efforts have been directed toward configuring PONs to receive/transmit radio frequency (RF) signals, such as media or broadcast signals used in, but not limited to televisions, radios, and the like. Accordingly, ONUs have been configured to receive RF signals sent over the PON, allowing the ONUs to communicate via optical, electrical and RF signals. However, it would be advantageous to reduce costs of manufacturing ONUs and, hence, generate competitive pricing for ONUs.